THE FRISIANS
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In 1813 the Prefect of the
Department
Friesland,
at that time Baron Verstolk, was supposed to answer some questions from
H.E. the Secretary of Interior Affairs of the Empire regarding the
inhabitants
of the province of Friesland. This resulted in a report which was
published
at a later date by "het Friesch Genootschap" ("the Frisian Society"):
Although the report describes morals and manners in both cities as countryside, this page only quotes a number of subjects which are relevant to life at the rural areas. Afterall, in view of this website that is where our ancestors were born, grew up, married, worked and made a (hard) living as farmhands, servants, gardeners, laborers, etc. With many thanks to Wybo Palstra, subjects of this summary of Baron Verstolk’s findings are: - Manners
and morals
The Prefect of the
Department Friesland
to: August 1, 1813 Your Excellency has, in the letter which was honorably addressed to me on July 11, inst., asked six questions regarding the inhabitants of this departement. After making inquiries which I needed concerning the subjects, it is my pleasure to answer them: The manners and morals of country people, in particular when living at some distance from cities or larger towns, are generally rude and uncivilized. It is noted that those who live by the most fertile soil are the least polite and obliging compared to the ones living in the more arid areas. In this respect the people of the municipality of Het Bildt are mentioned, a very fertile area in the northern part of the department which includes the towns of St. Annaprochie, St. Jacobiparochie and Vrouwenparochie. This is easily explained: a fertile soil assures the farmer more income than arid soil which circumstance soon leads to an independant feeling that often makes the less educated overrate themselves. Those who feel independant are less inclined to respect others. The Frisians do not have special feelings towards strangers and almost consider those from neighbouring departments like that. However, they do not have major shortcomings. Although they indulge freely in liquor, most of the time this happens on occasions like holidays and fairs. They are good natured and hardly irritable but once they fly into rage it is difficult to calm them down at which time even the most convincing arguments do not seem to have much effect. During their quarrels they would attack the opponent with a knife, usually trying to injure the face. In various towns a knife has been spotted hanging some place. Whoever touched the knife was obligated to “cut” with the owner, a way of fighting that had it’s fans and, even though shedding blood each time, occurred quite often without taking previous quarrels into consideration. It may be compared with the English “boxing” although this custom has been diminished over the years and these days is only practiced by sailors. The Frisians are said to
have a stiff
head.
In a way this may be true but on the other hand it can not be denied
that
they distinguish themselves by a particular gentleness and obedience to
the law. They do demand however, that the law is made clearly known to
them and are offered the opportunity to get familiar with it.
Furthermore
they expect politeness and empathy from the authorities and even the
slightest
failure of their magistrates through partiality or negligence is reason
to rouse complaints to such an extent that even the most dignified
official
will have a lot of trouble getting them to quiet down. Moreover, they
are
not impressed by appearances nor pomp and splendour; it will only hurt
their feelings.. Gentleness and arguments will do but at the same time
this requires an ample knowledge of their customs, their way of
reasoning
and their language. Since little effort is spent
on their
moral
education one might state that if they are content and behave (as
already
mentioned) then their main motivation is found in the custom and
consideration
that by acting the opposite way they would lose their reputation. Good
faith and honesty are among their main virtues. The way they trade in
peat,
wheat, butter, cheese and other products illustrate this: the seller
hardly
ever gives a receipt to the buyer as proof that he received the price
for
the sold product whereas examples that payment was claimed a second
time
are so rare that they may be considered as non-existing. The way farmers and farmhands divide a work-day The farmer and his family
get up at 3 -
3.30
a.m. After breakfast they milk the cows, churn butter and make cheese.
The farmhands start their work on the fields at 5 a.m. At 8 a.m. -when
the first shift is finished- the family get together. Some of them have
lunch and take a break till 10 a.m. whereas others eat a sandwich,
drink
tea and go back to work at 9 a.m. Those who have lunch at 8 a.m.
continue
their work at 10 a.m. and take an hour rest at 2 p.m. when they have
some
rye-bread with butter, cheese and tea. The others have lunch at 12 noon
and rest till 2 p.m. At 6 p.m. the work-day is over. The family get
together
again and has supper after which either coffee or tea is served. Sunday is a day of rest and
enjoyment. It
is
only in exceptional situations that work is done such as in the middle
of the hay season or if the rapeseed need to be threshed. Most people
go
to church once or twice and visit relatives or friends. The
single
men usually get together in the local inn and amuse themselves with a
game
of “kaatsen” and “katknuppelen”. The latter activity means that they
throw
a stick at a hanging wooden barrel in which a cat is locked up. The
person
whose stick hit the barrel causing it to fall apart and free the cat
from
its imprisonment, is the winner. Sometimes the stick is thrown at a
pole
to which a cake is nailed. The person that hits the pole and causes it
to fall wins the cake. In winter these games are substituted by playing
cards. During these get-togethers much tobacco and jenever is consumed
which, with regard to the latter, sometimes ends up in rawdiness. Servants who have taken a job elsewhere resign on May 12 or 13 and spend a few days in freedom before going back to work again. They use these days for a visit -in large numbers- to the main cities of the Department where they look for entertainment in either the city or its neighborhoods. The better part of the night is spent on fun and at the inns one can hear both the violin and the loud dancing and singing of the youngsters. Most of the time a wedding is very plain and withing the financial means of the newly-wed’s. Family members and relatives are invited as well as close friends of the bride and groom. At the wedding-party there is singing, dancing and drinking and each guest contributes some sort of gift to the new household. Nine days after giving birth
to a child,
a
woman -regardless of social class- immediately invites all her female
friends
for a visit. She welcomes them according to her standard of living but
at all times will offer coffee, tea, wheat-bread (sometimes
currant-bread),
biscuits, butter, cheese and brandy with sugar and raisins. Funerals are known for their
extensive
ceremonies
and are quite popular. Frequently one hundred people are invited
-sometimes
even more- and all follow the corps in a procession. The minister of
the
town leads the men, his spouse leads the women. The family members of
the
deceased are usually dressed in black and the women wear a large black
veil to protect them from possible rain. There is not much variety in the way Frisians relax. Men who are married or reached a certain age, do little more than pay each other visits or get together at the local inn to smoke their pipes, drink jenever and discuss agricultural matters. They also visit horse- and cattle markets, either as an interest or to buy or sell. Races have their interest too. The young men spend their time with “kaatsen”, “katknuppelen” and skating. The Frisians are known to be
great
skaters.
Not only do they practice it as a hobby but also as necessity. Indeed,
the natural condition of the Department, which most certainly prevents
improvement of roads in the clay areas, leaves the inhabitants during
the
winter hardly any other choice for transportation and communication
than
the canals. If covered with ice they are used extensively by people
with
sleds or skates. This leads to the fact that the Frisians head straight
forward to their destination and do not distinguish themselves by the
elegance
of skating but rather their high speed. As far as this speed is
concerned
examples are given which are almost miraculous, such as the one about
the
mayor of Bolsward who -crossing the Zuiderzee- skated from Den Haag to
Bolsward in one day. It should be noted that the skates which are used
in Friesland are different from the ones used in other Departments.
They
are flat, horizontal, short and have no decorations. More or less even the
upper-class enjoys
this
pleasure. The fairs in Friesland are quite similar to those in
other
Departments: many rows of booths and stands with merchandise of all
kinds,
rope-walkers, jugglers, illusionists, quacks and everything else which
may interest the crowd. Each city and town has a fair once per year and
they are well attended, in particularly the one at the capital of the
Department
which is a very important one. Families from out of the city leave
their
homesteads for a few days to participate in the turbulent
entertainment. The language which is spoken in the Department could be subject of many remarks and much research. Indeed the people of the rural areas speak a type of language which is hardly understandable for those living in the cities. They speak the language but cannot write it and only scholars write in this language. Moreover, the language is suitable only for simple and general purposes. Since the Dutch language is taught at school, the language only perpetuates by using it. Almost every Canton has it’s own pronunciation and it is thought that the present language is a corruption of the old, original language. The way they raise their children Food Mother’s milk is the most important (if not the only) food of the children for the first year and sometimes even longer. Frequently it is noticed that a mother nurses her children untill the second, even third, year while at the same time the children already are eating the same food as their parents and can walk by themselves. Generally however, they are breast fed a year to a year and a half. Mothers who, due to weakness or other reasons, are not able to nurse their children, feed them with a mixture of milk and biscuits or flour from buckwheat mixed with milk or boiled with groats and buttermilk. Clothing The clothes of the children are usually warm and made of a rather thick material, that is to say if the circumstances of the parents are not too poor. Depending on how they develop, the children stay at home until age 5, 6 or 7, under the supervision of the mother who if she needs to work on the fields will take them along in order to keep an eye on them. Education of the boys Children that reached age 5,
6 or 7 are
usually
sent to school where they learn to read and write, sometimes learn to
add
and practice singing psalms. Furthermore they learn questions and
answers
by heart concerning the principles of the Christian religion,
eventhough
they may not actually comprehend them. The time spent in school depends
on the circumstances and attitudes of the parents and ranges from one
to
four years. Education of the girls The education of the girls
hardly differs
from
the boys. If their parents live in poverty, the girls only go to school
until they are able to contribute to the family’s income. The
opportunity
to work occurs at an early age in those areas where farming need many
hands
and if these hands are available. Their duties include digging
potatoes,
picking fruit and other activities that can be left to them. Girls do
not
attend school as long as the boys because in a shorter period of time
they
have learned to help their mother doing the household chores.
Furthermore
it doesn’t take long before they know how to spin which will contribute
to the income of the family. Not much time is spent teaching them how
to
sew and knit and for this reason only a small minority specialize in
making
clothes in order to make a living. At the age of 12, 13 or 14 years the
girls are sent to serve a farmer and soon they will earn enough to
support
themselves. Daughters of farmers in poorer circumstances, fulfil the
task
of servant to their parents. They learn how to milk cows and make
butter.
Their education is considered to be complete once they are able to run
a farm-household on their own. In general the people in the
rural areas
feed
themselves with substantial food such as raw, green and white peas,
potatoes,
buckwheat porridge or else groats-and buckwheat flour, but rarely wheat
flour. Groats flour is used to bake cookies and make a dish called
“Postroo”,
a mixture of flour and milk which is sturred to a solid consistancy.
This
porridge is served with a sauce of milk and butter or, if it can be
afforded,
a sauce made of grease mixed with syrup. In summer they eat a lot of
large
beans and to a lesser extent carrots, turnip and cabbage. Many thanks to Mitch Berkenpas for editing this English version. |
